


Slideshow of Unknown Memories

by ShinyOrenjiMushroom



Category: Naruto
Genre: AU, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Past Relationship(s), Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-09
Updated: 2017-02-09
Packaged: 2018-09-23 02:04:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9636065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShinyOrenjiMushroom/pseuds/ShinyOrenjiMushroom
Summary: Naruto has been suffering all his life from blackouts and blank spaces in his mind. When his condition worsens he comes under the care of Dr. Uchiha to help understand his hallucinations and the odd circumstances tied to them





	

**Author's Note:**

> This is an alternate universe fic where Sasuke is of a healthy mindset and Naruto is dealing with mental issues stemming from a possible possession. This is not meant to show mental health in a negative light or trivialize it. I want this to be an enjoyable slow build two-shot focusing on support and intimacy. More detailed notes are at the bottom.

Naruto had been nervous to enter the pristine building. He stared at the suite number one more time and then opened the door. It was silly that he'd be scared now. He was familiar enough with the mental health annex of Konoha regional hospital. He'd been in several times before for scans and tests. (all of which had come back with no insight into his condition.) No, he was nervous because it was the first time a psychiatrist had been willing to take his case. One that was highly recommended at that. As he gazed at the appointment card for the doctor's office his vision began to cloud over and his head started to hurt. He was floating. Again.

"Mr. Uzumaki, its a good thing your primary care physician had you fill out and send in your paper work before hand. Dr. Uchiha is already waiting for you."

Naruto blushed at the displeased look from the receptionist. "I- um... sorry. I got turned around." He smiled sheepishly.

She sighed, but was disarmed at the warmth in his embarrassed grin. "Just go ahead back. At least you aren't too late."

Sasuke frowned at the clock on his desk. Seven minutes past the hour and his new patient hadn't showed up. He wouldn't have taken the case had his superior not encouraged it strongly. The tardiness was not helping, see as he prided himself on punctuality. The case had sounded like something of an annoyance when he'd read through it. The file wasn't of his particular interest so he didn't understand the head doctor taking a shine to it. Another minute ticked by and his felt his eyebrow twitch thinking about it. His attention snapped to the door when he heard the handle click. Eyes narrowed as a disheveled blond man walked in, eleven minutes past the hour.

"Dr. Uchiha?"

"come in. Don't linger in the doorway. You're already late enough and we have a lot to cover." He supplied tersely.

"Sorry, sorry." Naruto grimaced wondering how someone so unpleasant was a doctor.

"Sit down Mr. Uzumaki." Sasuke snipped as he opened the file on top of his stack. "I know what's in your medical history, but I want you to explain why you are here." He adjusted his glasses and leaned on his hands.

"Okay. Where do you want me to start." The blond sunk to the couch uneasily.

"Start where the episodes began."

"Well, that would be when I was a child. Is that okay?" He question and looked up.

"And you just now decided to come to a doctor about this?" Sasuke's brow furrowed and his mouth pulled into a line.

"Well, who is an orphan going to explain that to?" Naruto asked with a short laugh. "Most people would write it off as a child being silly or imaginative right?"

Sasuke 'hmmed' thoughtfully. The blond man did have a point. He wrinkled his nose at the momentary agreement. "Anyway, continue."

"I used to get these bad headaches and blackout. I'd forget what happened surrounding those. Most of the people handling the health at the orphanage thought I was just ADD. Apparently I talked when I blacked out. And then I began having these realistic dreams, but it wasn't me or anything having to do with me."

"What were the dreams about." Sasuke made notes as he listened.

"It was like I was living someone else's life. Like in a totally different time. My bunkmates told the teachers I talked in my sleep like I was holding whole conversations." Naruto sighed. "For a while I couldn't remember any of it, but then slowly snippets started to come back."

"It never occured to you that the dreams weren't real?" Sasuke asked, already knowing the answer.

"Well I know dreams aren't real, but this was a very literal feeling. Everything I experienced in the dreams seemed to show up physically. So I started keeping a dream journal, well sketchbook, to try to help me remember more." Naruto exhaled loudly. "It kind of worked. I was able to remember the faces and qualities of voices I heard. It was so bizaare."

"And what about now?" Sasuke tapped his pen. "Is this still occuring? Are you still experiencing these 'revelations'?"

"They had stopped for a short while, but then they came back much worse. That's actually why Dr. Yakushi recommended psychiatric care. It's put a strain on my whole life and scared my family."

"Explain."

"Well, a few times when I've blacked out I apparently started wandering, ending up in strange places. I also had a yelling match with someone?" Naruto sighed in embarrassment. "It scared my wife, so she and the kids are living are her parents' place. I mean, before it didn't bother me, but now that it's affecting other people..."

Sasuke sat quietly taking notes down. The more he listened the more he realized that Naruto was a very open and honest person and that this wasn't just some ploy, or imaginary issue that sometimes overly dramatic families tried to push. He thought over the medical records. No brain damage or other existing conditions. Nothing that had been detected on tests and scans, and yet he was facing someone with a very real, but unexplicable problem. He was a bit intrigued at the challenge now. He looked back up at his patient. He guessed that Naruto was probably loud and outgoing and probably fairly physically active. He looked decently in shape and good health minus faint scarring on his cheeks and a few on the backs of his hands. Also there was a trace of ink disappearing into his sleeves. Nothing of note. All else seemed in good mental health, so it was really going to be an intensive work trying to pinpoint the problem. He bit his lip.

"Mr. Uzumaki, given that your case is a rare and unnusual one, I'm going to recommend we have weekly sessions, especially given the frequency of your episodes. Is this going to be a problem within your work schedule?" Sasuke removed his glasses.

"No. I have a flexible schedule with work. I can fill hours on weekends or evenings if I need to set up appointments during the day. Whatever is best for you Doctor." He commented with a slight smile.

"Good. Now for your next appointment I want you to bring your sketch journal."

"Um... I have a lot of them." Naruto interrupted.

"Then bring the first one if you still have it. We are going to study and compare your sketches and see if we can find something that ties things together."

"I do. I still have all of them actually. Most of them are in my office at work." He scratched at the scar on his cheek.

Sasuke noted the action and narrowed his eyes. "Mr. Uzumaki, you are not by chance into scarrification or body modification are you?"

Naruto froze in confusion. "Uh, you mean these? I've had them since I was little. I got scissors to the face at the orphanage from a bully. I do have a few tattoos if that's what you mean."

"Okay." He merely stated accepting the answer. "We will meet again on Friday at 4pm. Please make it a point to be on time next week I do not like when my patients are late without reason."

"Sorry. I blacked out in the hallway. Sheesh. I would have been early had that not happened."

"Why did you not think to mention this when you came in?" Sasuke frowned.

"I thought it'd just be seen as an excuse." Naruto answered with a small angry tick.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, interested in that reaction. Not all bumbling nicety and bashfulness. His lips quirked, perhaps based on that fiery look there was some cause for fear on the wife's part. He'd get to the bottom of that in the next session. There were going to be some buttons pressed. He needed to not make assumptions about Naruto, but his gut was falling on a form of schizophrenia. He sniffed then and stood to signal their session was over, five minutes past the hour.

"I'll see you next week. You may see yourself out and grab a reminder card from Karin at the desk

 

-

 

The following week Naruto was less on edge about his appointment. He wasn't sure how he felt about Dr. Uchiha yet, but for the time it seemed that his issue was going to be taken seriously. He arrived thirty minutes early and made his way up to the waiting room. On his way he got another headache and blacked out.

Sasuke was surprised to hear his door swing open while he was in a session. Even more surprising was that it was his newest patient. He frowned as Naruto stood still, staring at nothing. He paused in his notes and excused himself from his current patient. His eyes narrowed as he gauged the situation.

"Mr. Uzumaki, when I said not to be late I did not mean to interrupt me during other times." He ventured in a commanding voice.

The blond was quiet and did not move or even make a motion that he'd heard the doctor. Then a soft conspiratorial whisper came out. "shh. Don't tell him." he murmured with a strange sense of glee. "He'll be so upset if he sees you."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow realizing that he was witnessing one of the man's hallucinations first hand. He stood and moved closer to the door. "Why would I tell?" He asked seeing if that would work in removing the blond and regaining control of the situation.

"Well I know you wouldn't, but..." Naruto's eyes were glassed over and unseeing as he fidgeted with his jacket cords. "But if he sees you, us..."

"Well then you need to hide. He'll know for sure if he sees you here." Sasuke replied thinking on his feet and already ushering Naruto out.

He instructed Karin to take Naruto into the break room and give him water and a headache tablet. The blond giggled to himself but was led back without protest. Karin stared at him strangely, unused to witnessing episodes with Sasuke's patients. He seemed completely unaware as she sat him in a chair and filled a cup from the dispenser. All at once though he stopped and slumped forward. Karin froze and wondered briefly if she should call Dr. Uchiha back in.

"Ugh. Sorry I'm late." Naruto mumbled while rubbing his eyes.

Karin blinked then set the cup down next to him. "Actually you're early and you charged into the doctor's office while he was still in session."

"Oh shit! I'm sorry. Um, where am I now?" He asked taking in the unfamiliar room.

"our break room. Dr. Uchiha thought it best to put you back here so that there was less chance of you wandering off or disturbing other patients." She handed him the pills. "Take these for the pain."

"Wow, well that's embarrassing." He smiled softly. "Sorry."

"It's fine. Dr. Uchiha will come get you when he is ready to see you." She stated and walked away.

Naruto didn't have to wait too long for the doctor to beckon him. He sighed and followed the stoic man back to his office. It had been strange that he had two episodes in the same day. The first he'd gotten to sketch out in the office, but the recent one obviously not. It was still fresh on his mind so he hoped that he could get details out of the doctor since he'd interrupted another patient's session.

"So, Mr. Uzumaki, let's talk about your little stunt today." Sasuke steepled his fingers as he gazed at the blond. "What do you remember?"

"It felt... I dunno personal? Like- almost like I was him on a date?" Naruto blinked trying to recall. "I mean I remember getting on the elevator for here and then I was standing in the park."

"Well, let's talk about 'him' then. Is he who you normally dream about?"

"Oh!" Naruto dug in his messenger bag. "Yeah. He is." He pulled out a tattered sketchbook and opened to a page. "That's Kurama. He's the one I seem to be living as in my blackouts."

Sasuke eyed the sketch. It spoke of skill beyond a child's understanding despite being in red crayon. "Is this your first one or a later book?"

"My first one. I've always been abnormally good at drawing." he shrugged. "I mean it's not completely accurate now. I've gotten really good at drawing him though."

Sasuke asked for the sketchbook and flipped through it quickly to try to gain a good starting point. He did have to admit that even so, the drawings were very good. There were some scenes, and some portraits and also a few weird bits of text in another language. He stopped on a particular page that had the man in question and another one looking fondly at each other.

"who is this one?"

"I've heard Kurama call him Hashirama. I am not completely sure the relationship between the two, but they seem close or involved." Naruto smiled and blushed.

Sasuke thumbed the page then flipped to the next. Naruto's case didn't seem to be completely negative based on the reaction to the two men. "Okay so what can you tell me about Kurama." He finally asked.

"Well, what I've seen has all been from his late teen years to his adult life. Sometimes I see the same scenes, and sometimes it's new. He seemed like he was alone a lot. The time doesn't seem to fit, but it's definitely before now from what I can tell."

"Does he ever talk to you?"

"No. Kurama is always me or I'm always witnessing him. I never interact with him." Naruto scratched his cheek absently and it caused Sasuke to look back down at the sketch. "It's kinda strange I guess."

"Your scars match your drawing of him." Sasuke commented with narrowed eyes.

"Oh, yea that's why the bullies did it. They saw me drawing them all the time and decided I wanted them. Hurt like hell." Naruto chuckled. "But not much I can do now. I don't mind it too much."

Sasuke thumbed the page with the two men and then flipped to the next seeing a letter written in some other language. "What is this?" He asked handing the book back to Naruto.

"Um... I don't really understand it. I mean, in my dreams I seem to but out side of it not really." The blond admitted. "I think though that this is a letter to 's some sort of nickname in there a few times and I know I've heard kurama, myself, use it in conversation."

"Have you ever tried translating it?" Sasuke asked. "It might help you."

"Um, I speak three languages and I'm not sure what that is. I don't know where to start."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. He hadn't expected that. Of course Naruto was a decently successful man. He'd read his medical documents showing his job and spouse, but he definitely did not seem like the type to intellectually learn other languages. It made him very curious and even more prone to thinking that the other was schizophrenic. He made note to look into that.

"I mean, it seems like a very old dialect." Naruto added when he noticed the silence from his doctor.

"Do you have other writings like that?"

"Oh um, just a few notes here and there scattered through my books. I can try to photo copy them and bring them in next time."

"Please do for our next session. Perhaps we can piece together some of this confusion." Sasuke sighed tiredly. "Yours is a case so far that I have not encountered. It is going to take several sessions, and I'm going to recommend regular brain scans just to keep tabs on your headaches."

"So then you believe me about all this?" Naruto asked hopefully.

"It's not about belief. I'm a medical professional and it's my job to sort out things like this." He stated bluntly.

"Well it's not like I haven't had a psych eval before." Naruto retorted with a frown. "But most of them thought I was trying to create some kind of false condition." He snorted. "I'm a proud man, I wouldn't come for help like this unless I thought it was necessary. It feels very degrading."

"Mental illness is very different than physical." Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "It is also very easy to fake if you're good at playing a part." He studied the downcast blue eyes and the dark circles beneath. "However, I have the right vision for this. I can see right through a farce, and so far Mr. Uzumaki my eyes are telling me that you are not acting."

Naruto nodded and then looked up catching the doctor directly in the eye. Sasuke inhaled sharply and the seriousness he saw. Naruto's eyes were clear with awareness and resolution. Despite the stress of expression lines and shadows the blond man showed an uncanny strength of will that was uncommon in his patients. He briefly wondered if this intense gaze was part of the main person, or something of his visions.

"I want to figure it all out. It's been haunting me all my life. I trust that you can help me." He finally said.

"Then next week same time." sasuke left no room for argument. "I will write you a prescription to help you sleep and one for headaches as needed. Please contact me if your episodes become worse."

 

-

Several weeks passed with regular sessions. Sasuke had seen pretty much every personality quirk from the blond man that he'd thought possible. His patient was surprisingly good company despite an argumentative nature. He'd dug up some information on the man through social media and from his own site for freelance commissions. Orphaned at a very young age from a fatal break in. He'd been in a home until the age of twelve when he'd been adopted by one of the teachers at the local elementary school. Then his estranged grandfather, who'd been out of the country and out of range of contact had been reunited with him. The blond was well traveled and surprisingly well learned. He'd also learned that the man was in the first stages of divorce. When asked, the other had said it was amicable and for the best.

He'd been no closer to figuring out the problem, but Naruto's sketch diaries and pieced together a very interesting story. He wasn't sure how to proceed to advance the issue, but ideas beyond a simple mental issue were starting to come to mind. He didn't particularly believe in occult and supernatural things, but he knew they weren't impossible. He'd borne witness to a few inexplicable things in his life. His brother had been one of those things. He thought momentarily about Itachi's weird sixth sense and exceptional perception. It was one of the reasons he'd started to study the mind.

Dr. Uchiha had been genuinely interested in his case after he'd started bringing sketch books in. They'd looked through each of them page by page trying to analyze. Naruto found himself more and more enjoying the sessions even if they were no closer to a cure. In the very least it had helped ease some of the stress that he had come to trust his doctor and even felt like a somewhat formal friendship had developed. He had noticed that each session seemed just the littlest bit longer than the previous. Which in itself was a huge thing as he'd noticed right off how the young doctor was about time.

"Ne, Uchiha." Naruto had taken to being less formal with the doctor given the time they'd spent poring over his sketches. And also for the small tick of annoyance he'd see in that pretty face. "Old man Teuchi brought noodles by my office today. It's way too much so I thought I'd share them."

Sasuke stared at the take out container. He wasn't particularly a fan of noodle dishes or even street foods really, but he was surprised at the gesture. He nodded his head toward the desk in silent motion of acceptance. Naruto smiled at him. It wasn't his moronic grin that he normally used when calling him by his last name without the honorific. It was a true and sincere one. He coughed to bring his focus back to what they would talk about during the session.

"I noticed you've been trying to piece together some translation." He gazed at fresh scrawls and notes on the pages. "Your dialect of Sunago is very proficient." He commended.

"Yea." Naruto grinned. "My best friend is from Suna. I don't get to see him much since he's all important business now. "He taught me. How do you know Sunago?" He tilted his head in question.

Sasuke paused. They'd never spoken about his personal life, but he supposed the question was still relevant enough to the session. "I took it as my language credit in premedical plus I spent a year abroad studying a particular case." He looked at the other notes wondering what language they were in. "This is not one I've seen."

"Ah. That's Gamago. It's not a commonly used language. Traveled with gramps to the Island where it's spoken. He knew it fluently, and eventually taught me." Naruto sniffed. "It wasn't easy to learn. I don't know how many people I insulted while I was with gramps."

"I somehow find that very easy to imagine with how moronic you can be." Sasuke hadn't meant to say it out loud, but it slipped out.

"Did you-?" Naruto cracked up and it drew a small chuckle from the doctor's lips. "Uchiha, you just insulted me and I can't even be mad."

"If you're going to continue to be disrespectful by not calling me by my title I suppose you can go ahead and use my name." He snorted still lightly amused.

"Okay. Sasuke." Naruto was smiling in that unsettlingly soft way again. "I brought another one in today. I think we might be able to tell more from it."

"Why do think that?" He asked while motioning for the journal.

"These are the most detailed sketches I've done." Naruto shrugged.

Sasuke nodded and started flipping through the book. "This is recent yes?"

"Un. I finished that one about a year ago, but it's still the most intense one I've got." Naruto pointed at the book with the bottle of tea he'd brought in. "There's a kinda really embarrassing page in the middle you can skip." He flushed.

Sasuke was intrigued and flipped until he found it. Naruto's face was aflame when he'd come to the sketch. The man that they'd dubbed as Hashirama was drawn in complete detail in a quite compromising position. Hands were on naked hips as if he was looking from Kurama's, and he knew the hands were Kurama's from how much Naruto drew them, point of view of a very intimate moment. He wondered what about this particular drawing was embarrassing for his it merely the sex, or was it because of some other reason.

"Why is this particular one embarrassing?" He asked eyes trained on Naruto's flushed face.

"Well, I remember the dream vividly." He swallowed. "I knew Kurama's sexuality early on, and sometimes I even wonder if it influenced my own, so that never bothered me." He sighed. "This was such an emotional one though. I can still remember how Hashirama spoke with Kurama. The softness in his voice and the sounds of his pleasure. I'm embarrassed because I felt like I was seeing something I wasn't supposed to." He turned to look at the window a sad smile on his face. "It was something so special between two people, and I was envious that I didn't have that with my own wife."

Sasuke made note of that. Something about how Naruto spoke of that particular dream moved him ever so slightly. He felt like he was seeing something so different than all the other bits of personality. Naruto was indeed a very multifaceted person as he'd come to see in his sessions. He still wasn't sure about the other's condition, but he hadn't written Schizophrenia off just yet. The sketches were quite telling about his mental awareness. He flipped a few more pages into the book and saw a gruesome drawing of Kurama's wrists that had been burned. He eyed Naruto and flipped the book around to ask.

"Ah, that. I'm not exactly sure what happened. It wasn't self harm though. I only got a snippet of that story. He was trying to get his arms free from bindings. It's rope burn."

Sasuke hummed at that and made a few more notes. He flipped through the rest of the pages pausing every so often to study a particular sketch. After a few minutes he closed the book and jotted a few more things down. He wanted to keep this particular book so he could go back through and comb for details he might have missed. He sighed tiredly and removed his glasses when he heard the door to his office open.

"Dr. Uchiha, it's almost six o'clock. Is it okay if I leave?" Karin asked meekly a flush to her cheeks.

Sasuke's eyes widened as he looked at the clock on his desk. He'd been with Naruto for nearly two hours. "Yes Karin. You may go, I'll put his file away when I leave." He stated firmly ushering her out with a look.

"I'm sorry Sasuke! I've taken up more time than my session. Let me pay for the extra hour." Naruto jumped up.

"No. It's fine." He waved his hand. "I'd like to keep this one to study it some more. I have a feeling I might glean some details from it even still."

"Um sure." Naruto smiled again. "You know, if you do have a question about one of the drawings you can text me since you have my number. I'm normally up late anyway."

"I told you to take the medication for sleep." Sasuke frowned.

"Actually it's not that." Naruto blushed again. "Since we've been having these sessions and talking about my sketches, I've been able to have more restful sleep. I'm remembering the dreams better and waking up not feeling sick even if it's not long hours of sleep." He sniffed. "I wake up with my mind active for my art is all."

Sasuke measured his answer by looking for signs of lying. True Naruto still had bags under his eyes, but he did seem a bit more energetic. "Alright, I'll accept that for now." He snapped the book closed. "Same time next week. Thank you for the dinner." He stated abruptly closing their session.

Sasuke found that the take out Naruto had shared with him had been particularly delicious. He'd decided to heat it up and just have dinner in the office while studying the sketches. His notebook filled with speculations on each drawing pointing out detail and style changes. Some drawings were clean and completed with neat lines. Others were messy, as if scribbled frantically. Hit bit down on his chopsticks thoughtfully as he analyzed the pages. He kept going back to the 'embarrassing' one and comparing it. True to his hypothesis it was the most detailed piece. Kurama's hands were rendered in almost hyper-realism. The everpresent scars and long painted nails that identified them in all the other drawings were so perfectly captured. The way his fingers curled into Hashirama's hips definitely told of a deep gratification he was receiving. Speaking of the focus of the drawing, Hashirama was curled over himself. Long hair was curtained around his face and some sticking to his cheeks. His eyes were glazed over and his mouth parted in a gasp, but the small quirking up of the corner told Sasuke that he'd been smiling an instant before. He felt heat in his stomach as he stared at it. Naruto's statement about the intimacy and having the feeling envy came back to him.

"So, you loved your wife, but never felt like that towards her?" He asked to the empty room. "I think you might have been in denial about the type of relationship Kurama had with this other man." He smirked as he wrote the note down.

He finished the noodles and then flipped to the end of the book and was stunned. His chopsticks fell from his hands as a haunting face stared back at him. The last page was a messy and dark sketch of one of his late ancestors. He recognized the face from a portrait that hung in his parents' home. The lines on the man's face, his coarse spiked hair, even the defect in his eyes, the same that his own brother shared was rendered near perfectly. There was a certain anxiety and malice to this drawing though. He documented how stylistically this seemed angry. The lines were deep and nearly tearing through the page, and the shading was fast and messy scribbles. He thought to ask Naruto, but he didn't know if he really should text him now. He felt this conversation would best be had in the office where he could monitor the reaction. His curiosity was eating at him. So he vyed for a safe text.

Sorry to bother you Naruto. I meant to ask you earlier if you knew anyone from my family.

He waited for a response wondering if he should have included a reason.

Well I think I met one when I was a little kid. This teenager that looks a lot like you used to stop by the home to read to us.

Sasuke stared at the text. Well that was a coincedence. He knew Itachi did volunteer work when he was younger. He'd never known all the details. He and their cousin Shisui were always about doing things in the community much to their parents' chargrin. It was no wonder that he moved out so quickly. Itachi was too kind a person and this was even more of an example. He sighed and replied to the text.

That was probably either my brother Itachi or our cousin Shisui. They did lots of volunteer work in the area. I was just curious since you'd stated you lived here your whole life. See you next week.

Sasuke reasoned that his response was a good enough excuse for the question. Naruto didn't reply afterwards. Sasuke couldn't get his mind off the image. He wondered how his ancestor was tied into all of Naruto's weird episodes. The ferocity in which that drawing was done was near frightening and showed that there were some violent and rageful thoughts hidden inside the ever smiling blond man. That was something he'd approach in their next session.

 

-

Sasuke was woken up three nights later by his phone chiming and flashing. He blearily reached for it ready to snap at whoever was messaging him at two fourty seven in the morning. His eyes widened when he noticed that the texts were all from Naruto and were a just a jumble of sentences that didn't make sense.

I didn't do it.

blamed me

blamed me

he's not here

I can't find him

where is he

the bridge

the bridge the bridge the bridge

don't touch me i love him

Sasuke was confused at the mess of disjointed sentences. The only thing he could figure is that Naruto was having an episode and not in control of himself. He tried calling, but the phone went straight to voice mail. Next he tried texting back but nothing came back. He jumped out of bed wondering if the series of messages was a call for endangerment to his patient. He decided he'd rather be safe than sorry and pulled up Naruto's address from his database. It wasn't too far of a drive so he threw on a shirt and sandals and left. On the way he crossed over the valley Bridge and something told him to stop. He parked and thanked that gods that there was no traffic at night. His instinct had been right. Sitting on the edge of the observation railing was Naruto. A tightness pulled in his chest and he made a beeline for the blond.

"Naruto." He called, but received no response. He took in the disheveled appearance of bare feet and ratty pajama pants. He exhaled nervously and tried again. "Kurama."

That incited a reaction. The blond jerked and turned his head. His eyes were still closed, but they were watering and his phone was clutched in his hand. Sasuke took note of how Naruto was trembling like he was crying. He took a tentative step closer not wanting to startle him over the railing. He didn't seem intent on jumping, but the precarious way he was sitting was worrisome.

"Kurama." He tried again. "What didn't you do?" He asked hoping it was the right thing.

"I didn't kill him." Was whispered in reply. "I didn't. He didn't jump. He didn't." More anger came with the second statement. Teeth bared. "He didn't. Senju- Tobirama, he didn't!"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed and suddenly all Naruto's drawings and episodes started to make sense. He needed to get him out of this hallucination though. "Kurama. Stop, I believe he didn't. Let's go home." He held his hand out knowing full well that Naruto couldn't see him.

"Tobi-" He started to cry in a horrible, angry way. "I didn't. I didn't." He kept saying over and over again even as he climbed down from the rail.

"Come on." Sasuke stated again.

Naruto seemed to instictively know where to go. He reached out for Sasuke and missed his hand by a fraction instead catching his shoulder. His body followed as he was led gently to Sasuke's waiting car. Even so he seemed to know to duck into the car. And as soon as it started up he was out again. Sasuke watched him carefully as he drove not sure what to do. Before Naruto he would have never gotten this connected to a patient. He figured the best would be just to take him back home. At least this way he could observe and intervene should he need to.

The walk up the stairs and into his flat had been challenging though. Naruto was out deep and he didn't want to wake him concerned of shock or some adverse effect. He sighed as he arranged the other man on his couch. Seeing as he was already awake he figured he'd put on some coffee so he would be able to make it through his appointments. As he was pulling out the bag of grounds he heard shuffling in the main room. Naruto was awake and aware and digging through his desk. He watched from the bar just in case he needed to swoop in and nab a sharp object from his patient. His pulse raced hoping that wasn't the case. seeming to find what he needed he bent over scratching furiously at a sheet of printer paper. Sasuke observed the process curious if this was how it always was.

The sound of the timer dinging snapped them both to attention. Naruto's head shot up and he then realized he was not in his own home. He turned back and forth taking in the room until his eyes landed on Sasuke. His cheeks flushed and he bowed his head stammering out an apology for his invasion. Sasuke tsked not being in the most charitable mood and finished making his coffee and then came back into the living area.

"Idiot. I brought you here after you blew my phone up with messages." He sniffed and sipped at the mug. "Since you're here, we might as well give you a session if you're aware enough."

Naruto cleared his throat seeming to notice his lack of shirt and idly started scratching his arm. Sasuke tried to ignore the motion but found himself strangely drawn to the ink he'd failed to notice earlier. He'd never really noticed the black lines down both arms. Of course he'd never seen anything above the elbow, but it was strange the way they connected to circles on his shoulders, and then across his chest. Last he noticed the ornate spiral decorating the taut belly. It was strange and somewhat familiar.

"The tattoos..." He stopped not sure what to ask.

Naruto snapped out of his embarrassment over his lack of shirt and turned showing off the rest of the tattoo that went across his back. "It's dumb, but the damn story always fascinated me as a kid." Naruto shrugged. "Anyway, I guess I should talk."

sasuke walked to the desk and picked the drawing up. He studied it for a moment and instantly realized what he was looking at. Kurama and Hashirama on the bridge where they had just been. The frantic sketch depicted Hashirama falling and Kurama reaching for him but missing. It all fit considering what he'd just witnessed. Naruto was dreaming about Kurama losing his lover, friend, possible soulmate either accidentally or by suicide. He stuffed the drawing into the sketchbook that was in his possesion and then sat down at the desk.

"Tell me what you remember."

Sasuke puzzled out the events Naruto had explained scant days earlier. He'd been studying the sketch book and his own notes almost religiously. On top of that, he'd done some research on the names. Senju was a very old name. But he looked into it and found some, not a lot, but some information. He started with Tobirama since Naruto had stated that name at the bridge. He was the younger of four sons from the Senju family that had pretty much been the builders of the bridge and the city from it's foundations. The older son was one Hashirama. Naruto's drawings of said man were pretty much dead on. The first time he saw the portrait in the city archives he thought instantly of the 'embarrassing' picture. What he'd read stated that Hashirama had been killed during a fight with a supposed friend. An eye witness had said that Hashirama had been shot and pushed over the bridge to make it look like suicide. The reports had been that Tobirama had been in disbelief about the blame but unfortunately an eye witness account had over ruled anything and the accused had been put to death. A lover's spat would have been believable considering the fact that Hashirama had been married and fathered children. There had been mention of that in one of the books Naruto had filled. But somehow it still didn't fit.

He tried to see if this Kurama person was real, but it was very hard to find anything on him. He was like a ghost. He'd only had a bit of luck when he'd come across an old inmate file from that time. It had specifically been a list of inmates sentenced to death and obviously had been done just for record keeping in the justice system. Kurama was listed without a surname. Sasuke denoted that in the history of the city, that was usually a sign of a war orphan. The headshot they had of him was definitely familiar to the sketches, but his appearance was more gaunt and angry. He wanted to do more digging so he made copies of the pages and crammed them into Naruto's sketch diary.

He hadn't really expected Naruto to show up for their session later that afternoon, but was caught off guard when the blond walked in. He jolted up from the mess on his desk and took in the sight of his patient. Naruto had darker circles again and he seemed a bit sick. Despite that though, he'd come in carrying two drinks. Sasuke recognized the cups from the bubble tea place around the corner. A green and mint was placed on his desk and then Naruto sat down in the usual chair. He sipped on his own drink eyeing Sasuke and then eventually speaking up.

"Was I still supposed to show up?" He asked tilting his head. "I mean I figured I was."

"Yes well. After that incident I decided to do some research." He masked his surprise by adjusting the glasses that slid down his nose. "It seems everyone you've been dreaming about exists or did."

"What? Like they were all real people?" Naruto leaned forward. "I mean I thought but I never knew. This actually makes me feel tons better."

"Now to pinpoint a few things. What do you know about the history of our city?" sasuke pulled his notepad out.

"Um... What does this have to do with anything?" Naruto looked confused.

"Just humor me. What do you know?"

"Well I never paid much attention in history lessons. Something to do with war between other areas and then these two families wanted to stop the war and made an agreement." He scratched his cheek sheepishly. "It's really bad I know."

Sasuke sighed realizing that there wasn't a way that Naruto's knowledge of history got him all caught up in weird hallucinations. "Okay nevermind. Let me explain something to you."

He pulled out the documents he'd copied and laid them out next to one of Naruto's sketches. "Is that?" Naruto gazed nervously at the photo. "Is that Hashirama, like for real?"

Sasuke nodded and the set the other copy down. "Does this one look familiar?"

"That's Kurama! But..." Naruto suddenly reached for the paper sticking out of his book. "I saw it." He shook the drawing from his last episode in Sasuke's face. "He got put to death for a crime he didn't commit."

Sasuke nudged his hand down. "And how do you know that is the truth." He already believed Naruto's weird dreams but still had to look at everything rationally.

"I mean I guess it sounds pretty crazy huh." Naruto chuckled in an oddly sad way. "I have bits and pieces, but not the whole story. But I know Kurama didn't kill him. I felt the pain of loss when I came around." He clutched at his chest. "It hurt so badly. Like I had been stabbed in the chest."

"Perhaps in your spare time you should do some research into the history of these people. Records are at the library. It might help you to cope." Sasuke suggested.

"Will that help the episodes you think?" He asked apprehensively.

"I don't know. It might help. I don't see that it will do anything for the headaches, so you'll need to keep taking the medicine."

"There's more though too isn't there?" He asked.

"Well you mentioned another name that night. Tobirama. That was Hashirama's brother and actually how I was able to find these documents." Sasuke paused and wondered if he should bring up the sketch of his ancestor. "And there is one more thing." His own morbid curiosity got the better of him and he turned to the last page. "Who is this?"

Naruto's eyes narrowed and a near snarl came out. "That fucker hurt Kurama."Sasuke saw the violent reaction thoroughly intrigued. "He-" another growl came out and suddenly Naruto's body language shifted. "I told you not to touch me anymore."

Sasuke hummed and pressed record on his phone. "What are you talking about?"

"I told you I'm not your plaything anymore!" Naruto's body jumped up and coiled defensively. "I'm not going to fuck things up for him just because you're jealous!"

Sasuke swallowed not quite sure how to proceed. He scoffed trying to keep the play going. "What have I got to be jealous over?"

"That's rich. You used me. Used my feelings for him because you don't want anyone else to have him."

"How did I use you?" Sasuke snorted hoping that was the right thing to say.

"Just because I consented doesn't mean you could control me! I was vulnerable and you knew it."

Sasuke had a bad feeling of where the conversation was going. He swallowed and took a step closer not wanting to really confirm what he was sure the other would say. Naruto stepped back hitting the chair and seemed to snap back. This episode had been short but particularly telling. Sasuke gazed at his confused patient and then offered him the note pad. The blond took it with shaking hands and began to sketch. Sasuke watched with rapt attention wanting to know what would come out. The messy sketch that manifested was lewd in nature and quite unpleasant. Unlike the prior 'embarrassing' one, this had no affection shown. It was Kurama's back with bruises and bite marks. His hips were held tightly and Sasuke recognized the ring on that hand. Naruto stopped and stared at the sketch with a haunted look in his eyes.

"Okay. That's enough." Sasuke rested his hand lightly on the other's wrist. "I think we both understand."

"Sasuke..." Naruto looked on the verge of tears. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry." He fell back into the chair and bit his lip.

"Hey, come back to me." Sasuke knelt down next to his patient showing an uncharacteristic gentleness. "Nothing has been done that needs apology."

Naruto looked at him shakily and then nodded once. "That was a bit more intense than I remember seeing the first time." he blushed and looked at the floor a sort of shame crawling into him.

"Have you see that vision before?" He asked eyes searching the other's body language.

"yea. A few times before. The first time it happened I flipped over a table and then spent the rest of the night puking my guts out."

"And yet this was more intense than that?" Sasuke's brow quirked.

"That I think was mostly surprise. This time I could almost feel the bruising and pain even if just for a moment." Naruto leaned forward. "My body feels this phantom soreness like even though I was just watching, I was experiencing." He sighed and scratched at his stomach with a wince.

"Naruto..." Sasuke noticed the small action and leaned closer. "Let me see your hips."

Naruto raised his shirt in question and they were both startled. Angry red fingerprints decorated the skin. marks that were too large to be from either of them. Naruto instantly covered his mouth feeling sick. Sasuke was quick to act and moved to grab the trash can by his desk. It wasn't a moment too soon either. Naruto purged himself with painful heaves and sat huffing for a breath. Sasuke hadn't particularly known what to make of that. He'd already figured that Naruto was a rare case indeed, but this was beyond his realm of expertise and also now bordering on endangerment to his patient's health.

"Naruto, I'm going to call your doctor. I think he needs to know about this." Sasuke finally said when the other sounded less labored. "I won't tell him the details, but I am going to share with him that certain things are affecting your health."

"Why? I don't understand. I thought that talking with you was really helping." He grumbled. "Like I really was feeling improvement."

"Improvement doesn't just happen smoothly in this kind of instance. Just like with any medical condition there are triggers. It doesn't mean you've taken a step back." Sasuke reasoned. "We are getting closer to figuring things out, so we are bound to find some difficult parts along the way."

"ugh this is so embarrassing." Naruto groaned seeming to come back to himself a little bit. "Just what I wanted, to spend my afternoon puking in a trashcan. Haven't done that since college."

"Heavy drinker?" Sasuke tilted his head in amusement.

"Only a few times." the blond admitted. I got stuck in one of my dreams and forgot how much I'd drank and got super wasted. Haven't made that mistake since."

Sasuke laughed breaking the odd tension in the office. "Are you sure you didn't come in here with special coffee?"

"No! Jerk." Naruto muttered with no real animosity. He felt happy at the change in the mood. "I wouldn't waste it on coffee if I was gonna drink. In fact, next time I go to a sake bar you might just have to go with me to make sure I don't add alcoholism to my laundry list of mental issues." He snipped.

"Okay." Sasuke murmured with a smirk.

"What?" Naruto blanched.

"When are we getting Sake? I could use a few rounds after your drama." Internally he was slamming on the breaks unsure what exactly caused him to joke like that. He'd never shown any modicum of casual contact with his patients before and this was just plain unprofessional.

"Uh- I'll have to get back to you when my mouth doesn't taste like acid." The other man snorted.

 

-

"Sasuke, to what do I owe this surprise visit?" Itachi stood from his chair to greet his brother. "It is rare that you have free time to stop in."

"It's not a social visit unfortunately. I have a question that seems like it would be more in your realm of expertise." He gazed at his older brother still unused to the defect in his eyes.

"I find it hard to believe that I could help you with anything of consequence being as I am the department chair of the psychology department and you are an actual doctor." He raised an eyebrow but motioned to the couches in his office while closing the door.

"Be that as it is, you have a more worldly view on things. A more spiritual view. And then you also have that..." sasuke sighed feeling guilty for using his brother.

"Okay. I will try to answer you as best as possible."

"I want to hear what your thoughts are on supernatural occurences." Sasuke worded his question carefully. "Specifically, do you think that stigmata* is possible?"

Itachi's eyes seemed to look through him as if looking for more to the question. He felt unsettled by the red gaze. "A few cases have been documented. Cases that were not self inflicted, but those were only in mediums. Do you have a former medium as a patient? They are known to have suffered mental breakdown dealing with malevolent spirits."

"No. He's not. But I know what I saw. It's almost as if he's living some restless spirit's life out in his dreams and through hallucinogenic episodes." Sasuke was careful not to divulge too much. "At first I just thought he was schizophrenic, and I'm not completely ruling that out as a trigger, but I've witnessed his episodes in person."

"I see. You seem very affected by him." Itachi observed. "You've never been this distressed or personal about a patient before."

"It's not just him, but what he's 'seen'." sasuke pulled out the sketch book knowing he was breaking protocol but he just had to know. "Last page." He said laying it on the desk between them.

Itachi's hands slid over the texture of the book's cover and then down the sides of the spine and closed pages. He let painted nails rake along the corners before opening it. Gently his fingertips brushed over the first sketch careful not to smudge it. Sasuke watched him curiously as he seemed to be taking in everything about the book. He paused as he started to flip through pages but didn't ever open to one.

"There's something beautiful in here." He remarked. "Emotive and intimate." Sasuke knew exactly which drawing that was and nodded. "There's also a lot of anger and he cried."

"I'm sure he did." Sasuke agreed wondering just what tipped his brother off.

"The pages are warped and I can smell the salt and metallic tang." Itachi answered the unasked question while finally opening to the last page. "Ah, Uchiha Madara." He merely stated confirming Sasuke's original thoughts. "That's an interesting one. Full of malice and hurt. Such deep hurt." He commented.

"I thought so. My patient did not have a pleasant reaction. He drew something else that was..." He didn't want to say partially because of his own disgust but also for Naruto's confidentiality and pride.

"Listen little brother, though held in high regard with our family Madara was not an honorable man. He was cruel." His voice took on a darker tone. "He was not above manipulation to get what he wanted. But of course your books won't tell you that." Itachi sighed. "I'd suggest you look into your patient's family history. Next time you see him, ask if he has anything that is antique or relic."

"That might be difficult. He's an orphan." Sasuke sniffed. "But perhaps he might have something."

"I'll have Shisui get you some copies of the clan documents if you'd like to sate your curiosity on our ancestor." He closed the book and handed it back. "I am happy that you are taking this so seriously." Itachi smiled lightly. "He must be special."

Sasuke blushed and pouted hating that his brother could read him so easily. In truth, he'd grown to care about the blond and had wanted to help him more. Not just because he was a doctor and it was his responsibility to help, and not just because of curiosity. Naruto was a strangely disarming person and he felt truly distraught over being unable to assauge the pain so to speak. It was actually very difficult to see the sunny man haunted by such dark thoughts. And he'd been truly terrified seeing him sitting on the rail in the perfect 'suicide' spot.

"He is definitely an unsual case." Sasuke stated neutrally.

Itachi smiled at him knowingly. "In any case, good luck."

 

-

His visit with his brother had given him more ideas on how to approach Naruto's case. He would of course have to gain consent from Naruto and his doctor for the next thing he had in mind, but he figured it might help. As unconventional as it was, any method that would not be physically harmful to his patient was better than floundering without a clue. He sighed as he dialed up Dr. Yakushi. He wondered how he was going to explain his idea for treatment. Yakushi was a relatively science minded man from what he knew, and would probably think critically of such unorthodox methodology. He pressed his fingers to his temples not wanting to really talk to the other doctor.

"Doctor Yakushi's Office, how may I direct your call?"

"Oh, Shizune-san." Sasuke breathed out in small relief. "I need the doctor's consent for a treatment with Naruto." He got along well with the assistant. "Can I speak with him please?"

"Oh, Doctor Uchiha! What kind of authorization do you need? If it's prescription I can do so. He has given me consent." She replied amicably.

"Um No. I'm trying to not add to his medications. It's more of a physical therapy type thing. Will that require me to fax him a form?" He asked.

"One moment. Let me ask him and see if he needs it." The line was silent for a moment and then she was back on. "None of his current physical activities have been negatively affected. Since he is of good condition the doctor has given his consent. He just wants you to fax a report of the results as you continue it."

"Thank you. I will keep him updated." Sasuke frowned thinking he needed to also let the doctor know about the most recent incident. "There was another episode. I'll send that over with the treatment results so he can compare them."

"Okay. I'll let the doctor know." He could hear the smile in her voice. "Please take care of Naruto-kun for us."

He was happy he wasn't going to have to explain the treatment. He had texted Naruto afterwards briefly explaining that he wanted to try a new technique to help better understand his condition, but he needed permission. The response had been relatively quick with an affirmative. Of course when Naruto came in for his next session he'd have to give written consent as well, but at least Sasuke could get the treatment going. He felt strange calling on Neji for this. The Hyuuga man was a skilled medium. It was a lost art from their family, but he'd chosen to take it up. Sasuke was pleased that he had a starting point.

Neji and he hadn't got on spectacularly but there was a mutual form of respect between them. Even so, he hadn't expected the other to be so compliant. When questioned, the other man was silent. Sasuke had found that to be unsettling. He hoped it wasn't something of a grudge. Granted Neji was professional if anything, and he was sure that bad feelings wouldn't get in the way if that was the case.

He sighed and went back to sifting through Naruto's file. He was frustrated because he felt so confused on what to do. Even with what he'd figured out, he was unsure if it was going to work and his compulsive want to be in control was stressing him out. Or at least he thought that was the cause of the extra unrest. He'd come quite devoted to the case, but he'd unadmittedly come to enjoy Naruto's company and wanted to help. Itachi had always told him that he had a kind heart. sasuke wasn't inclined to believe it, but it seemed that when it came to Naruto he'd gotten emotionally invested.

Naruto wasn't sure what to expect when he came in for his session that week. It had been specifically requested as an after hours appointment so that there would be no interruptions. The office felt strange without patients or even karin at the desk. Sasuke let him in and took him back after locking the door. It was a bit nerve wracking. Unorthodox treatment aside he meant. sasuke had given him a rundown of what they were going to be trying. He was totally up for it even if he felt it would be slightly invasive. He paused and stiffened at the door when he recognized exactly who had been invited to participate.

"Naruto-kun." A deep and serious voice came.

"Neji..." His lips pulled in a tight smile.

"Oh? I didn't realize you two were acquainted." Sasuke frowned.

"Neji is my wife's cousin. In fact he was the one who gave her away at our wedding since none of the rest of the family wished to be there." Naruto sighed his smile softening.

"Is this going to be a problem given the current circumstances of your marriage?" He asked slightly worried he'd made an error.

"No. The terms of that situation has left no bad blood between us. Hinata-sama did not wish to use this method when they were together feeling it would be unfair and a bit too... intimate." Neji extended his hand. "I am very willing to help Naruto. He is a good man with a kind heart."

"okay. Fair enough." Sasuke pushed the chair and couch back to give them space. "Naruto, I know I explained the gist of this in my message, but do you have any questions?"

"I don't really have anything from my family except for my dad's necklace. That's about as old as I can get. He got it from grams when he married my mom. Gramps gave it to me when I met him the first time." Naruto bit his lip. "I'm not quite sure on how this is supposed to work though if I'm not dreaming."

"But you understand how a medium works?"

"Well yea. They use their abilities to communicate with the other side." He shrugged.

"It's not just that." Neji adjusted his sleeves as he sat down. "We are a tool through which entities from different planes of existence can speak. This includes from the afterlife or from a parallel. There's infinite places it can come from, but it requires concentration and an anchor. You are the embodiment of the entity; I will be the mouth; and Uchiha-san is going to act as our ground." He tossed his head making his ponytail fall over his shoulder. "While I can expell myself from a vision, you may not be able to if it's strong. I will need him as a point to bring you back. Does it make sense?"

Naruto nodded. "Okay. I can't guarantee what you'll see will make sense. I don't even really know myself as it's all stories of someone else's life. But if he thinks this will help, I'm game."

Neji instructed Sasuke and Naruto how he needed them to sit. Each needed to be within reach of each other for the session to begin. Neji laced the fingers on his left hand through Naruto's and then his right with Sasuke. He told Naruto to take Sasuke's other hand so that all three were connected. Everything was quiet for a few moments. The temperature seemed to rise in the room a bit. Suddenly Naruto slumped forward as if he'd fallen asleep. Images started to flutter into Sasuke's mind as if he was watching a movie on fast forward. He recognized faces and names and even some of the events from Naruto's sketches. He didn't expect that he'd get to see what Neji was being shown. Suddenly it all went black again.

"That was very intense." Neji let their hands drop and let out a deep breath. "There's a lot of bad energy floating around in there but not at Naruto." The two looked at where Naruto was still slouched over. "He'll wake in a moment."

"Were you able to figure anything else out?" Sasuke probed.

"Yes. I don't know how much help it is to the situation, but it is something I doubt Naruto knows." Neji sighed. "I tried to open his spiritual receptors more so that he might be more in control during his episodes."

"What did you find out?" He pressed again.

"Both are real people. That much you gathered. What neither of you picked up on is that one if not both the people in these dreams are distantly related to Naruto."

"What?" Sasuke's brow furrowed.

"Senju Hashirama married Uzumaki Mito." He stated simply.

"And Kurama?" Naruto's voice peeped up drowsily. "What about him ties him so closely to me?"

"He's from the same branch as your mom is from." Neji tilted his head. "Funny how two people from the same family, albeit different branches, fell in love with the same person.

"Okay, so that explains how he is able to get these dreams, but why?" Sasuke asked reaching for his glasses.

"Kurama must be in a state of spiritual limbo. He's vengeful and is tied to this place or more specifically Naruto. I'm afraid the episodes won't stop until Naruto figures out how to put his spirit at rest. Since there's no physical remains of him I can't exorcise him."

"It has to do with his death." Naruto stated suddenly. "He was wrongly convicted of a murder he didn't commit and put to death for it." Naruto stretched and cracked his neck. "I don't know how you get relief from that."

Sasuke frowned. He wasn't sure how either. "Are you able to communicate with Senju's spirit?" He asked suddenly.

"I don't think it would help this situation. Obviously Hashirama knew Kurama wasn't at fault. Even Tobirama doubted. It's got to be more about somehow proving his innocence or even exacting revenge." Neji replied.

"Well this sucks. It's not like I can just go to police records and say 'Hey that dude that got convicted ages ago was actually innocent and I'm being haunted by his angry spirit.' They'd throw me out like the crazy I apparently am." Naruto snorted.

"I'll help you figure something out." Sasuke finally said. "I'm your psyc and the best in my field." He blushed as he realized how affectionate he'd sounded and tacked on the last bit to save face.

"Thanks. I know I can count on you." Naruto's warm smile made his stomach clench pleasantly.

There had been a major plus to the session with Neji. Naruto had become more in control of his episodes. He had told Sasuke in one of his sessions that it felt more like lucid dreaming. He'd been able to walk through the dreams as Kurama and get a better scope of scenery and situations. His recall was almost perfect as well. It wasn't just snips of memories he could remember upon waking. That had helped in his ability to sleep and kept him from getting violent reactions to the episodes, plus it kept him more aware during the everyday.

Sasuke had been doing more digging on his own. True to his word Itachi had contacted their cousin Shisui and had family documents sent to his office. Their clan history had all kinds of twists in it as he'd found out. Not only that, but the same affliction that Itachi and Shisui shared with their ancestor Madara had been used to cheat and manipulate people. He learned about one of the lesser family heads Kagami, who had completely disagreed with Madara's deeds. He quickly found out just how correct his brother had been about their ancestor being dishonorable.

"Itachi told me you wanted to talk to me about all the stuff I sent." Shisui spread his hands out in a welcoming motion.

Sasuke smiled and stepped forward to hug his cousin. "I figured you might know a little bit more than he does in this matter. Thank you for meeting with me."

"Pfft. Don't be so stiff. You're practically my little brother too." He grinned. "So, ask away. What would you like to know?"

"Right. The documents on Madara have been very helpful as it seems no one else has anything on his more seedy dealings." Sasuke sighed. "I'm trying to help my patient out with his condition, but I need more information about Madara. He's strangely connected somehow."

"You seem quite taken with this one." Shisui snickered. "I wish I could see him so that I could figure out what has our little ice prince Sasuke in such a fit."

Sasuke growled in embarrassment. "I hate that you two blind idiots had that stupid perception sense from your condition."

"It's not just that." Shisui became serious. "Madara had this condition and used it for power of suggestion. People said he had a silver tongue and was skilled in persuasive dialogue. And while that is possible, he was for a fact using this affectation in a hypnosis type way."

"Seriously? How do you know that?" Sasuke got into Shisui's space causing him to step back.

"Yea. It's all in his journal." He held the book up and waved it back and forth. "I thought you'd come looking for it."

Sasuke took the leather bound book and started to flip through it, but then paused. "Why do you and Itachi not use this ability?" He asked narrowing his eyes.

"Haha, we do. Both of us are guilty of it, but not for selfish or dangerous things. I normally use it to get out of conflict. I know he's used it to keep students from pursuing him for 'extra credit'. Nothing like what Madara did."

"Is it really okay for me to have this though?" Sasuke asked but not with the intention of returning it.

"You're from the main family. Why shouldn't you have it?" Shisui asked with a smirk. "I'm sure you can find something useful in there to help your boyfriend."

"Just for that comment I'm leaving." Sasuke grumbled. "obviously you don't understand professionalism."

 

-

Naruto awoke with a start. He had gotten used to being in control of his dreams since the medium session. It had been great, but now his mind was becoming too active. His latest dream had featured the particular love scene between Hashirama and Kurama, but half way through it morphed into himself and Sasuke. It had been very unsettling for him. The same expression of bliss and adoration that had decorated Hashirama's face was on Sasuke's during their coupling. Suffice to say he'd woken up with an unpleasant stiffness and burning blush. It had bothered him to see Sasuke that way. Not so much that it was him, but because he was his doctor. Sure Naruto had thought that he was unnaturally pretty for a man. His personality was annoyingly charismatic despite his more emotionless way of talking and addressing people. There had definitely been moments of warmth and care though. Of course there would be. Sasuke was a top doctor in his field so he definitely would have had to have some nurturing element despite not looking like it.

This was the problem though. He felt embarrassed by the dream. The love and intimacy that he'd so wanted with his wife, but didn't seem to have, had been so easy to see in that dream. It had been so easy to picture himself in that situation with the doctor. Even after he'd woken up. It was not a good thing for several reasons. He didn't need to be confusing what Kurama felt and dealt with a minor attraction to his psychiatrist. He didn't need to be breaching a professional relationship despite the times he'd thought of Sasuke and brought food or drink to his sessions as if they were friends. Forget the fact that Sasuke knew the inner most workings of his body and mind. That didn't matter. Naruto needed to keep himself in check.

In the very least he wrote the incident down. His mind wouldn't let it go, though. The way Hashirama had morphed into Sasuke in his dream. Long coffee-brown hair melting into ebony spikes was forever burned in his thoughts. And then seeing his own tattooed hands overtaking Kurama's and digging into pale hips had him clenching his thighs. After much debate he swallowed his pride and dug around for an unused sketchbook. He swore to himself that this one would stay out of sight.

He didn't know what Sasuke's body looked like under the suit, but his hand went to work sketching anyway. Soft muscles appeared. Not at defined as Hashirama and the torso was thinner. He paused with the desire to draw a tattoo but figured that Sasuke was a bit too straightlaced for that. He worked his way up until he reached the face. That was something he was familiar with. He rendered it with care drawing a beautiful, look of concentration and tendrils of dark bangs sticking to his cheeks. Naruto bit his lip and stopped sketching.

"Fuck!" He threw the pencil across the room. "Really. Of all the damn things to happen. I cannot fall for my psychiatrist." He growled. "This is so stupid." He slammed the book closed and shoved it back in his nightstand.

Naruto sighed and decided to go ahead and get ready for his day. He'd talked to Hinata into letting him have the day with the kids since his sessions had been showing progress. Aside from visits at the Hyuuga residence, he hadn't gotten to spend much time with them and he missed them. He was sure that it was straining his relationship with them as well. Sasuke had seemed to agree that he needed to take some time to spend with his family when he'd asked. He felt it might be helpful.

Himawari had been excited when he'd picked her up from school, but Bolt had not showed the same exuberance. It had been a bit disappointing, but not completely unexpected. He wasn't going to let it get him down. Bolt had kept his distance and hadn't understood when he'd moved out on his own. Naruto knew his son had thought several unpleasant things about it, but he'd resolved he was going to explain about the condition to his children now. He thought it would be fair if they knew. He figured he'd tell them over food. It always helped him think.

Ichiraku's noodle bar had always been a comfortable place for him and he was greeted by the owner as soon as he came in. Teuchi's daughter fawned over both children. Himawari ate it up and curtsied. He could tell Bolt liked the attention but was trying to be cool about it. His furiously blushing cheeks gave him away though. Naruto smiled at his children, a warmth settling in his stomach as he watched. It gave him a spark of confidence. The place wasn't in peak so he was allowed to let Bolt pick the table. He was glad for the semi-private booth that they were led to. Teuchi followed them to the table and set some drinks out. They didn't even have to order for which he was grateful.

"I'm glad your mom's letting you both stay with me tonight. I've missed you." He stated trying to start of neutrally.

"yeah, you'd see us if you didn't move out." Bolt grumbled under his breath causing Himawari to smack his arm.

"I know Bolt. There's a reason I moved out. Your mother and I agreed on this and I begged her not to tell you." Naruto sighed.

"Oh yea. I'm sure everyone likes to talk about being cheated on." he snapped.

"Shut up Bolt! Let daddy talk." Himawari shared all her mother's looks but didn't have the same timidness with her sibling.

Naruto reached across the table and grabbed his daughter's hand. "I know it's been rough for you both. But I'm finally ready to tell you what happened. I think you're old enough to understand what I'm about to say and why I was so scared to talk about it." He exhaled. "I promise I didn't cheat on your mother. This is something I've been battling my whole life."

Naruto paused. Bolt seemed to have turned his full attention to him and away from the window. Himawari squeezed his hand with tiny fingers ready to listen to him. He was so proud to see how his children were now despite his lack of presence in their lives. He knew he was making the right choice. He had no doubts about his children accepting him now.

"Your mother and I agreed that for the safety of our family we should separate. I'm not fully healthy. There's a lot of things wrong with me." Naruto started wanting to let them ask questions.

"Are you sick daddy?"

"Yeah what gives? Why would you guys think that?" Bolt asked indignantly.

"I have a mental disorder." Naruto's heart rate increased but he took several breaths to calm down. "I've been seeing an excellent doctor for treatment, but it's a rare case so there isn't much we know yet."

"What does that mean though? Should you be alone with us now if mom was worried about our safety?" Bolt was still defensive, but his questions helped Naruto keep going.

"I'm not going to hurt you." Naruto chuckled. "The disorder causes me to hallucinate, some times pass out from painful headaches, and even causes severe anxiety." Naruto sighed. "There were several times when you both were younger that Hinata came home and found me unconcious in a strange place and both of you alone."

Bolt pointed at him mouth open, but then frowned. "I remember something like that. Mister Kiba next door pulled you out of the pool." Bolt's eyes turned a little sad as he realized. "You were a danger to yourself, not to us. But it affected your ability to be dad."

"Yeah." Naruto flushed. "I tried to fake like nothing was wrong for a long time because I didn't want to face it, but in the end this was best." He smiled gently. "As you guys get a little older and as we see what treatments work best for me, I'll get to spend more time with you. I know it's not much, but I hope that's okay."

"I love daddy no matter what." Himawari declared with a pout.

"Jeez it's embarrassing hearing my dad ask permission." Bolt replied with a blush.

That closed the conversation. Naruto was happy with the turn of events and they had been able to enjoy their lunch. Having his children accept him took one stress off his shoulders. He was glad he didn't have to go into too much detail. Of course he'd answer if they asked, but for now it was enough. He couldn't believe just how much he'd missed their little antics. He hoped that he'd get more time with them in the future.

Lunch was followed by a trip to the arcade. He'd remembered Bolt loving the VR and action type games. Again his son tried to play cool, but could not contain his excitement as he was handed a token card to play. He followed along carrying Himawari. His daughter was happy to watch occasionally cheering for Bolt when he did something well. He enjoyed watching them interact.

"Hey old man, you can't come and not play." Bolt turned to his dad and pointed accusingly. "Come on." He pointed at a movement based game.

Naruto grinned and wondered if he should tell his son he used to be amazing at the game. "Okay. You don't have to go easy on me because I'm your dad."

In the end while Bolt was pretty good at the dancing game Naruto still thoroughly beat him. It had resulted in some complaining on his son's part, but he saw it wasn't serious. Himawari had been elated and cheering him on. After that Bolt didn't challenge him to anymore games, but they did work together for tickets to get Himawari a plush animal. Several rounds of skee-ball and other payout games had them a successful cache of tickets. Naruto had been stuck carrying the giant, pink plush while Bolt took his sister's hand.

Because the day had been particularly nice he wanted to enjoy it with them. Bolt took Himawari around and was careful with her. Naruto watched from the bench as they played together. He didn't expect to hear a familiar deep voice. He turned in surprise and found Sasuke standing next to the bench. His cheeks flushed and he looked away.

"You look like you're feeling pretty good today." Sasuke sat down next to him and watched the pair he could easily identify as Naruto's children.

Naruto smiled. "Yeah. I really missed this. I know it can't go back easily, but I'm happy for this."

"If we figure out how to help your condition will you try to go back to your family?" Sasuke asked with a small frown.

"Nah. Hinata deserves someone who can focus completely on her." Naruto grinned. "I love her, but not how I should." He sighed. "But I still have their love. That's the most important."

"Daddy!" Himawari waved causing Sasuke to smile softly.

Bolt looked at the pair of them a sudden angry pout crossing his face. "Hey!" He ran over. "You're supposed to be spending time with us not a boyfriend! You said you weren't cheating on mom!" His face was red from yelling.

Sasuke paused looking fully at Naruto's son and then started laughing. "Sorry brat. You've got it all wrong. I'm his doctor."

Naruto chuckled and tried not to blush after hearing Sasuke's laugh. "Yeah Bolt. This is Dr. Uchiha. He just happened to see me with you guys and was checking how I was feeling."

"Oh." Bolt scratched his cheek. "Sorry. He looked like mom and you seemed so comfortable that I thought..."

"What?!" Naruto burst out laughing. "Sasuke doesn't look like your mom. Sure he's strangely pretty, but they look nothing alike."

Sasuke frowned not enjoying being compared to Naruto's soon to be ex-wife. "I see that your son inherited your inability to filter his mouth."

Himawari ran up to the bench and abuptly handed Sasuke flowers she'd just picked. "Thank you for being daddy's friend."

That action stopped the whole argument. Sasuke wasn't quite sure what to do with it, but he did accept it. Naruto couldn't take the preciousness of his daughter and picked her up. Bolt pouted and narrowed his eyes at Sasuke. The action was oddly affectionate and protective. Naruto grinned and ruffled his son's hair. Sasuke found the action endearing and decided to take his leave.

"I'll leave you to it. See you next week Naruto."

 

 

_

Sasuke had been bothered by Naruto's children. The encounter had been surprising and he was a bit apprehensive about seeing his patient today. He wasn't sure why he was so unsettled. He supposed it was because he didn't have much experience dealing with kids outside of the few he got as patients. He sighed as he looked at the clock. Naruto would be by in eight minutes. He'd never felt nervous before.

"Sasuke!" Naruto bursted in through the door a few minutes early with a paper bag in tow. "I hope you don't mind."

"You're early." Sasuke commented with a cough.

"I know. I dropped Bolt and Himawari off at home today. They've been growing a garden and had way too many vegetables." Naruto left the bag on his desk. "I hope you like tomatoes! Bolt seems pretty good at growing them."

Sasuke stared at the bag his glasses slipping down. "I love tomatoes." He stated deadpan trying to keep the excitement down.

"Great! I wouldn't be able to eat them all." Naruto sat down in his usual chair. "Oh Himawari also put some plums in there for you for 'dessert' and then a red pepper. Apparently red peppers are symbolic of royalty. She said you look like a prince."

"Next time you see them, share my thanks." He rolled his sleeves up and sat across from Naruto. "We'll go through updates about your condition for about half of the session and then I have something to show you."

They went through the basics about how he was feeling and what kind experience he was having with his episodes. They studied some of Naruto's sketches pointing more details out. Naruto was able to tell him things he'd noticed in recurring dreams. Unfortunately the subject of the embarassing drawing came up and Naruto got quiet. Sasuke looked up from his notes and saw Naruto blushing and looking at the ground.

"Are you still embarrassed by it?" Sasuke sighed in exasperation. "We've talked it over several times now."

"It's not that." Naruto muttered. "Other people showed up in that position, so it was like the first time seeing it all over again."

"Oh? Was it anyone of importance?" Sasuke's brow quirked.

"No. No. It was just embarrassing." Naruto answered too quickly, but Sasuke let it slide.

"Well anyway, I received something interesting from my cousin that I think you should see." He went to the desk and pulled Madara's journal out. "I've read through it, so I'm only going to show you things I don't think will trigger an episode."

Sasuke motioned Naruto over to the couch so they could looked at the selected pages together. Naruto was still blushing as he sat down next to him. Sasuke started with a relatively safe paragraph confirming that Madara had indeed known and been friends. The passage seemed genuinely happy and innocent. They read through, Naruto learning more about the relationship between the two. He actually began to get sad.

"This is pretty terrible." Naruto murmured.

"Yeah, but it doesn't absolve him." Sasuke stated. "Let me show you something that confirms who your Kurama is."

Naruto watched him flip the pages, a little bit on edge. He found what he was looking for after a moment and handed the book over. Naruto eyed Sasuke briefly and then started reading. It detailed them finding the war orphan Kurama and Hashirama taking him under his wing. Trying to help assauge his hate and rage by teaching him. At first Madara had liked the kid. But then jealousy had become evident. He'd made notes of how Hashirama spent a lot of his time training Kurama, and how he tried to make the orphan feel included. Madara also mentioned that Kurama had been housed with the daughter of one of the local and deceased lords. He'd been increasingly angry at the time spent together despite acting okay.

"Shit. I mean I figured a lot of these things to be true about Kurama from the dreams and such, but man." Naruto sighed, but then jumped up. "Oh man, I wonder if Madara knew about the 'night'. I wonder if that's what caused some of this."

"His diary suggests that he knew that Hashirama had sex with Kurama. There's a statement in here about Kurama being too young." Sasuke took the journal back and started flipping pages to find it. "The possesive tendancies were very prevalent when I read that entry."

"So then when Hashirama gets married, he used Kurama in revenge on both." Naruto stated softly.

"Seems like it." Sasuke agreed. "Like he knew it would hurt Hashirama to see Kurama with him since it was an arranged marriage. But then physically hurting Kurama while convincing the kid it was a way of coping with his unfullfilled feelings." He puffed out a breath. "I've seen these kind of abuse techniques in several cases. It's hard to get around."

"And you said Madara was particularly good at persuasion."

"Not just. He was quite adept at it because of his condition. My brother has the same eye affliction. It apparently comes with some scary benefits despite slowly deteriorating the vision." Sasuke recalled what Shisui had told him and what the diary said. "I guess the 'disease' affects each person differently, but he used it a lot on Kurama and others. Though it surprised me that he never stated using it on Hashirama."

Naruto sat still for a moment like he was trying to formulate something. Sasuke watched his eyes flick back and forth and almost glass over. He was waiting for another episode to occur. Suddenly he reached for his sketchbook and started drawing scenery. Sasuke's gaze shifted to the pencil scratching the paper and wondered what the place was. After a few minutes a garden seemed to jump off the page. He recognized it. The location was close to his family's old shrine. He wondered at the significance. Naruto stilled again and snapped back to attention.

"I know this place." Sasuke started.

"Something important." Naruto muttered. "Twice."

"This is the garden by the Uchiha family shine." Sasuke continued to stare at the picture. "What was important?"

"Kurama's confession, and then later the lie." The blond man slumped. "I wish I could see the place. I wonder if I'd remember more."

Sasuke sat quietly for a moment. It was true that the Uchiha shrine was off limits to the public from the inside. Outside viewing of the historical marker was fine, but none except for the Uchiha were allowed on the actual property itself. He supposed he could get Naruto in being as he was one of the head family children. It would probably look scandalous, but perhaps he could still manage it. He'd have to have a good excuse though if he got caught.

"I might can get you access. It will take some doing though." He sighed. "I'll get back to you on it. Let's close off for today."

"Okay. Enjoy the produce!" Naruto stood seemingly in a rush. "I'll see you next week." He waved as he left and Sasuke found the hasty exit strange.

 

_

There had been some sneaking around, and bugging both Itachi and Shisui, but eventually Sasuke figured out how he could sneak Naruto in and what his alibi would be if he got caught bringing an outsider on the property. He wondered why it even mattered, but both his brother and cousin had stressed he needed to be careful and have a damn good excuse in worst case scenario. In any case he was at least grateful for the stupidly romanticized version of his ancestor that most clan and the public had. It created a near flawless if not embarrassing story that he hoped he wouldn't have to use.

He rearranged Naruto's appointment for after hours telling him that they'd be going on the property for their had wondered how he'd gotten permission and he flat out told him that he didn't. He was mostly hoping he wouldn't have to pull out his head family card, but if need be he would. Beside the point that it seemed important in Naruto's treatment. Strangely he had somehow developed no qualms about going outside his comfort zone in the blond's case.

"I feel like a teenager again. Breaking and entering." Naruto chuckled.

"Oh? Troublemaker were you? Do this often?" Sasuke hummed thoughtfully.

"Hah, I was no saint. That's why the Hyuuga family didn't like Hinata dating and marrying me. I was always into mischeif. It helped me cope with all the weird shit I experienced and knew nothing about."

"That doesn't surprise me." Sasuke snorted. "I've come across several troubled youth in my time in psych. Rebellion and lashing out were pretty common in the cases I had."

"Well yea. Your head's all fucked up and it's like no one understands. And then for me it was nervous energy."

"I'm surprised no one got you an ADD or ADHD diagnoses." He commented off-hand.

"Well it didn't matter. Truth be told, at that age even if they had, I probably wouldn't have taken any meds unless it was literally force fed to me." Naruto grinned. "Iruka probably knew that and instead just wanted me to grow up as best as possible." A softness came to his eyes. "Iruka was a pretty awesome dad and I was an insufferable little shit."

"You still in contact with your adopted father?" Sasuke asked suddenly curious since they'd never really gone into that part of Naruto's past.

"Oh yea! Iruka and I chat weekly. Plus he loves the kids." Naruto grinned.

"That's good." Sasuke commented and then motioned with a flick of his head. "This way to the inner garden. That's what your drawing looked like."

"Hey Sasuke, this doesn't seem like normal treatment..." Naruto started.

"That's because your case is not normal." Sasuke interrupted him quickly.

"Well yeah. But I was meaning to tell you thank you for going out of your way as a professional to try to help me." He smiled to himself. "There are very few people who have and it means a lot to me."

Sasuke felt his cheeks warm at the appreciation. "I'm your doctor. No thanks necessary."

The walk further in was done in a comfortable silence. Naruto seemed distracted with all the lush landscaping. He seemed to be taking everything in that he could in the waning daylight. It was surprisingly relaxing for Sasuke to watch. He kept shifting his gaze like he was observing and looking out for symptoms of Naruto having an episode, but he was genuinely pleased that the blond seemed fully aware. He stopped when he reached a stone wall leading to an inner courtyard.

"This is the place. Are you going to be okay?" He asked at the sharp intake of breath.

"Yeah. I need to see. I think it might fill in some blanks." Naruto admitted quietly.

They followed along the wall until it came to an archway and cobbled path. Low hanging tree branches curved over it almost making a tunnel. Sasuke paused and let Naruto walk around. The blond man was in awe as he walked into the small courtyard. He drank in every detail of the area from the rows of greenery to the koi pond in the center. Sasuke watched Naruto touch and interact with everything. It was strangely disarming at how innocent this grown man looked. Naruto walked to a tree and rested his hand on it.

"A confession and a betrayal both started here." He murmured as he leaned heavily against it. He was quiet for several moments before suddenly hissing out. "Someone is coming."

Sasuke didn't leave time for explanation. He snatched Naruto's wrist and dragged him back through the archway. He was not keen on being caught despite knowing he could very easily handle it. Naruto was smiling for all he was worth as if completely charged at the idea of getting caught. Sasuke definitely could hear the extra sets of footsteps as they ran. He knew he was going to have to take the back exit out of the area since he was sure that the main area would be on guard now. The only issue was that the back lot had a lot of overgrowth from old trees. It was a place he knew well enough from times hiding as a child, but after dark it was harder to navigate. After a few messy stumbles he managed to guide them to a chainlink fence. They both quickly scaled it and then carefully tread down the hill that led back to the main road. Naruto laughed loudly as they walked to the car.

"Wow!" he panted. "I know it wasn't supposed to be, but that was fun. Thank you Sasuke." He smiled warmly eyes shining with joy.

Sasuke paused and gazed at Naruto. His body seemed to glow under the lamplight. "Fuck. I am so getting fired." He muttered as his left hand reached out to caress the blond's jaw. "Naruto..."

"Sasuke?" he whispered.

"Fuck." Sasuke pulled Naruto close, cupped his cheeks tenderly, and sealed their lips together answering the desire he'd been fighting since the second session.

~~~

A/N: This is going to be a two shot. It's a strange idea I had mixing psychiatry with the supernatural. I thought it'd be an interesting play on the two characters and have them build a relationship while dealing with a challenge. I wanted to have a different world and have Sasuke have a healthy relationship with his brother and cousin while having a somewhat estranged relationship with his other family. I wanted Naruto to be multi-faceted and have a broad range of abilities and quirks, some of his own doing, and some from his possession. over all, I didn't want his mental state to be seen as a negative or disability. I wanted him to be shown as high functioning with some rather difficult hurdles to deal with. I thought drawing would be a good way for him to cope instead of writing since line work can really show emotion. I want to build up a sense of intimacy before I get to the physical part as I think that is going to be very important between these two.

stigmata- is normally used in a religious context where the wounds of the crucifixion appear on the individual. The idea is not solely a religious phenomena.

Sunago/Gamago- my way to show other language in this world.

Itachi and Shisui share the 'sharingan' affliction with their ancestor. Like a sixth sense of seeing without vision and having a spiritual awareness. It deteriorates their eyes to blindness though.

Hyuuga family practices as onmyouji/ mediums for exorcisms and other spiritual despite it being a lost art. Neji is their most skilled medium.

Naruto is bisexual and is open about it as he does state

The whole Kurama/Hashirama/Madara triangle was kind of loosely based on 'Scenes from a Memory' by Dream Theater. It's a cracky pair up, but I wanted to kind of parallel the whole Madara trying to control Kyuubi thing.

I'm sure there's more i need to explain, but for now i hope you enjoyed.


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